Mission

Creative:

Reality Aside aims to create quality works of art with an ever-growing team of talented artists who want to share their passions with us. We will be a meeting place and springboard for these creative people. In cultivating an atmosphere in which all participants are involved on a personal level, we will be a place to which they will want to continually return. And in addition to growth as a company, we want to touch as many members of the community - patrons and the public - as possible, with the unique results of our endeavours.

Audiences will not note any commonality in the content of the productions we mount. Indeed, we have no agenda other than a simple basic principle: choose the project that grabs us, regardless of perceived risks. We only notice what rivets our attention and ignites our imagination. If artists believe in what they are doing, their audience will feel it - and jump right in with them.

 

Educational:

Educational plans are to use theatre as an interactive educational tool for students, to explore literature, the physical sciences, and reasoning and analytical skills at the elementary, secondary, and college level. We are developing interactive mystery plays, and plays adapted from literature to bring to private schools and colleges for a fee, and use profits to do the same for underfunded schools free of charge.

The New York public school system is severely underfunded. They currently offer no arts or music education, and teachers often present information in lecture format.  Such rigid technique discourages a child’s natural curiosity and can make learning painful rather than inspiring.  The inevitable long-term consequence of such a system is a population of passive, unimaginative, ignorant adults. Using the creative arts to teach subjects in innovative, interactive ways, will help children grow up to be inquisitive people with a richer appreciation and respect for their world.  Our aim is to work gradually toward this end, by sharing our passion for theatre.

 

Objectives

SHORT-TERM

We have three immediate goals: 1) Receive IRS tax-exempt status for Reality Aside, a non-profit organization; 2)broadcast our existence and meet other artists by participating in festivals, conferences, and related events; 3) raise funds for our two main objectives (mounting an off-Broadway production of a new full-length satirical comedy, and launching our educational program.)

1) Once we have received tax-exempt status from the IRS, the process of seeking grants will be somewhat easier, as we will be able to accept tax-free donations.

2) Since January 2007 we have participated in three festivals and mounted two independent productions - activities which have been enjoyable and rewarding from an artistic standpoint, and have given us chances to see other new work and meet people with similar aims. We are a small company with large goals. Thus we welcome the possibility of joining forces with other artists and educators, and we explore such opportunities as they arise.

3) We are currently searching for funding via two means: grants and special events. For grants we are exploring three avenues: organizations that regularly provide funding to groups developing unique work for both stage and educational settings, corporations and businesses that do not traditionally make such endowments but may be interested in considering doing so, and private individuals who may be interested in furthering our aims. As for raising money through special events, we plan two sets of one-act plays this October. Ticket prices will be low, as large audience turnout is as valuable to us as monetary profits, at this stage; word of mouth is a powerful tool! We will also welcome donations at these events, and all profits will go toward funding both our creative and educational goals described below.

Creative: We plan to mount Love Loves a Pornographer, a hilarious parody of a classic 20th-Century British melodrama, by playwright Jeff Goode. Jeff Goode has achieved fame for his racy Christmas show: The Eight: Reindeer Monologues. The writing in this piece is witty, and clever, and the characters are slightly insane and slightly larger-than-life. We saw it performed as a staged-reading at NYU's Tisch School in Winter 2007, by a troupe of imaginative actors. It offers a unique brand of humor, a twisted, unpredictable storyline, and has tremendous potential as a successful show for large audiences. Detailed plans are currently paused, until we accumulate significant funding.

Educational: We will tour interactive mystery plays and adaptations from classical literature to regional high schools and colleges.  In each mystery play, some sort of “unexpected” event will happen – a disappearance, a robbery, a murder – and the audience must help solve the puzzle by using scientific and mathematical principles and reasoning skills, which are also presented within the play.  The adapted plays will draw from works that conjure vivid, dramatic imagery. Writers will include Edgar Allen Poe and Washington Irving. We will use our profits from paid events to perform at underfunded, poorly-equipped schools free of charge – beginning with the NYC public schools. 

 

LONG-TERM

Economical:

1) Become financially self-sustaining, initially with heavy reliance on grants and later with ticket sales, fees for our traveling shows, and donations.
2) Acquire a permanent residence within five years.

Creative:

We want Reality Aside to become known as a company that produces high quality works and acts as a valuable creative outlet and resource for talented people. Ambitions for growth include: mounting an off-Broadway production of Love Loves a Pornographer by the spring of 2009 and eventually bringing it to Broadway.

Educational:

Our long-term educational goals are far-reaching but not yet well-formed.  In brief, we want the teaching of creative arts and the creative teaching of science and math to be integral parts of every New York City child’s education.  Yes, a tall order.  From this overwhelmingly ambitious starting point, we ask ourselves how to take manageable steps in that direction.  Once our touring company gets off the ground we plan to expand it.  Eventually we will form a branch of our company completely dedicated to working toward student interests.  The branch’s objectives will include: joining forces with other companies with similar goals, working with teachers and schools to develop creative programming, helping students to mount their own productions, offering internships and class credit to older students, and helping students seek out other resources, internships, scholarships, and career opportunities in their fields of interest.  The smoothest first leaps will likely be to begin talking with schools and other organizations to generate interest in collaborative efforts, and for our touring company to help students mount their own productions.  The theatre is a mine for the development of practical skills.  Whether they are learning a role or operating a light board – they are lending their talents within a team to achieve a common goal.